If you want to make money in banking, RBS is not often thought of as the place to do it. Beyond associate-level, investment banking employees at RBS are paid towards the bottom of the market according to data from benchmarking company Emolument. And yet, some senior people in RBS’s global markets business appear to be living very pleasantly indeed.

44 year-old Toby Cole is a case in point. An RBS managing director and head of macro sales and origination, Cole lives on an island in the Thames. There, the Henley Standard, a local paper for residents of Henley on Thames outside London, reports that Cole is demolishing his existing island residence and building a replacement designed by an architect specializing in “dream” properties.

Cole’s modernist new home will have ‘seven bedrooms, a playroom, relaxation spaces and a boathouse.’ Shaped like a diamond, it will be accessed via a bridge from the mainland and offer ‘spectacular views of the river.’ It will also raised and flood-proofed to avoid a repeat of past inundations during which Cole says he was forced to wear “chest-waders” in order to access his front door.

Separately, further information has been divulged regarding HSBC’s unexpected decision to hike salaries. HSBC CEO Stuart Gulliver told Bloomberg that he stopped HSBC’s salary freeze after the bank’s juniors complained. By increasing salaries this year and deducting the increase from the 2016 bonus pool, Gulliver said the bank is shifting the pain to more senior HSBC bankers who, “arguably can afford it.”

Meanwhile:

Stuart Gulliver says HSBC is still committed to Asia but that the bank might do a little less hiring in China than previously planned. (Bloomberg)